OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
Does anyone know what may have happened
HELP! My guppy is dying!
- Thread starter Willbacon23
- Start date
did the guppies act strangely before or after you did the water change this morning?
did you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
did you use a bucket specifically for the fish or any bucket in the house?
what did their poop look like?
fish with dropsy do a stringy white poop, swell up like a balloon (this happens overnight), breath heavily and die within 24-48 hours of swelling up.
what is the pH and GH of the water?
guppies need a pH above 7.0 and a GH of 200ppm +.
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If you have only had the fish for a couple of days they were probably sick when you got them. Guppies and other common livebearers are regularly infected with external protozoa, gill flukes and intestinal worms.
Usually the best thing to do with new livebearers is treat them with salt while they are in a quarantine tank. If you don't have a quarantine tank, you can add salt to the main tank.
Right now I would check the pH and GH and then add some salt. See dose rates below.
Maybe post some pics of the remaining fish so we can check them for diseases.
-----------------
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate will not affect plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
did you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
did you use a bucket specifically for the fish or any bucket in the house?
what did their poop look like?
fish with dropsy do a stringy white poop, swell up like a balloon (this happens overnight), breath heavily and die within 24-48 hours of swelling up.
what is the pH and GH of the water?
guppies need a pH above 7.0 and a GH of 200ppm +.
-----------------
If you have only had the fish for a couple of days they were probably sick when you got them. Guppies and other common livebearers are regularly infected with external protozoa, gill flukes and intestinal worms.
Usually the best thing to do with new livebearers is treat them with salt while they are in a quarantine tank. If you don't have a quarantine tank, you can add salt to the main tank.
Right now I would check the pH and GH and then add some salt. See dose rates below.
Maybe post some pics of the remaining fish so we can check them for diseases.
-----------------
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate will not affect plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
They did have white stringy poop. It’s definitely dropsy. I’ve taken the last guppy out of the tank. What will happen to the fish in the tank that weren’t guppies? And what should I do with them
OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
The danios and corys in the tank look completely normal. All guppies are out the tanks. Is there any chance of the other fish within the tank being infected such as the danios and corys
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
If you are so sure if that is dropsy then could you say if there is any pine coning? It is the main sign of dropsy.
OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
One of the guppies scales are falling off so I’d say yes
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
This is not pineconing
If sick fish are in a tank, then the disease is in the tank and could affect the other fishes in that aquarium. The best thing to do is a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This will dilute most of the disease organisms and reduce the chance of the other fish getting sick.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
-----------------
Fish with dropsy get really fat overnight.
Stringy white poop can be caused by internal protozoan infections and intestinal worms. The internal protozoan infections cause fish to lose weight over a week or two and die. Fish can live with intestinal worms for months or even years.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
-----------------
Fish with dropsy get really fat overnight.
Stringy white poop can be caused by internal protozoan infections and intestinal worms. The internal protozoan infections cause fish to lose weight over a week or two and die. Fish can live with intestinal worms for months or even years.
OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
Is dropsy able to spread?
OP
OP
Willbacon23
Fishaholic
Okay perfect- having done more research it seems to be internal parasite? Does this change anything
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